Candidates Today Need To Stand Out From The Crowd

Candidates Today Need To Stand Out From The Crowd

A well written CV will open doors for you while a poorly written CV will slam them shut!

If you’ve been submitting your CV in response to job advertisements but you’re not being shortlisted then it’s time to ask yourself the following questions:

Have I taken the time to format my CV correctly?

Have I checked, double checked and triple checked to ensure there are no grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or poor punctuation?

Is my writing style and font size appropriate for a professional document?

Is my work history up to date and written in a consistent format?

Have I been consistent throughout with the date format, tense, headings, font etc.

Is my CV too long? If it’s more than two pages you need to edit it down.

Common mistakes I see day in and day out are:

CVs written entirely in capital letters or in bold text.

Poor formatting, if you’re a legal secretary with DP skills then the ‘tab key’ should not be your best friend!

Failure to notice all of the above doesn’t instil confidence in the reader that you are a skilled administrator who pays attention to detail.

We receive hundreds of CVs a week, all different shapes and sizes, some good and some not so good. I talk to frustrated candidates on an alarmingly frequent basis about why they’re not getting the opportunity to prove their worth. These candidates apply for high level secretarial roles but their CVs are full of glaringly obvious errors! Your CV is not something that you throw together when you have a spare few minutes. It’s an account of your life and a record of your achievements. It’s a powerful tool that can pave the way to your future success and happiness and it should grow with you, requiring constant scrutiny and up-dating. Take ownership of it and deliver a finished product you are proud of, it could be the key to unlock the job of your dreams.